22 Jul 2012

The union Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles, Shri Anand Sharma today inaugurated the National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (NIIPM) building at Nagpur and named it “Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management”. “Rajiv Gandhi was a great believer of innovation and technology and he was the one who laid the foundations of the information age in India. The Institute which we are inaugurating today was a missing link in our national landscape. We can only pay tribute to him by dedicating this Institution to his memory.”

Referring to the surge in the patent applications Shri Sharma said “The number of patent applications has expanded many fold over the years. Last year alone, nearly 42,000 patent applications were filed. Globally too, there is an increase of international patent filings as countries have gained competitiveness. We recognize the need for creating a pool of trained professionals who have a sound understanding of domestic and international patent law and are imparted with professional training which equips them to evaluate and assess the applications in terms of prevailing law. Intellectual Property is an instrument which has driven the innovation in developed world, building on inherent strength for innovation and in today’s globalised world, the reach of Intellectual Property crosses the national boundaries.”

The Minister also announced the decision to establish the India Intellectual Property Foundation which DIPP will set up in collaboration with CII and WIPO at NIIPM, Nagpur. “This development will help in synergizing the various IPR initiatives in the country and will immensely benefit all stakeholders. This will make Nagpur and Maharashtra the hub for research related Intellectual Property Activity in India” said the Minister.

Established as a national centre of excellence the NIIPM was established at the cost of Rs27.42 crore with an aim of fostering the creation, development and utilisation of Intellectual property as envisaged in the legislation on the subject. The institute will fulfil the needs of IP ecosystem by education, training, research, policy formulation and awareness. In the light of increasing workload of patent application Indian Intellectual Property Office (IPO) recently recruited a batch of 257 examiners. Of patents and designs who will undergo a comprehensive one year training at NIIPM.